The Wire

Can you spend $17 for only twenty-four hours on food or a roof over your head?

The Salvation Army has released its Economic and Social Impact Survey which shows that the average person on the Newstart allowance is living on just $17 a day and does not include accommodation expenses such as rent or amenities.

To coincide with the Red Shield Appeal, the Salvos are urging the federal government to reconsider not increasing the amount that recipients are currently receiving, acknowledging that it would take an extra $75 a week to ensure that disadvantaged and marginalised Australians can “live on the poverty line – let alone above it.”